103rd Street rebuilding almost there

OAK LAWN — For more than a year, the reconstruction and widening of 103rd Street between Pulaski Road and Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn has been one big headache.

Traffic has been restricted to one lane in each direction, and motorists have been forbidden from making left turns at most streets in the construction area.

But finally, Oak Lawn officials say, the nightmare on the much-used thoroughfare will soon be over. If all goes according to plan, the project, which began in the summer of 2002 after years of delay, will be completed by late October--in time for Halloween, village officials said.

And when finished, the road will be all treat and no trick, they insist. In addition to new pavement, the $4 million reconstruction includes widening the street by 4 1/2 feet on each side and adding turning lanes, new sewers and new traffic signals.